Sex gangs preying on children in Brighton and Hove

1:50pm Friday 15th June 2012 in News Exclusive By Bill Gardner

Gemma Doughty is project co-ordinator at WISE Buy this photo » Gemma Doughty is project co-ordinator at WISE

Teenage girls are being lured from shopping centres, plied with drink and drugs and raped by gangs of sadistic older men.

Many are taken to special “party houses” in Brighton and Hove before being forced to perform sex acts against their will.

Other vulnerable girls, some as young as 12, are being picked up on city streets, groomed by older men and driven in cars to sex parties in London.

Gemma Doughty is project co-ordinator at WISE, a Sussex Central YMCA service set up in Brighton and Hove two years ago to help young victims of grooming and exploitation.

She saw ten cases last week where girls between the ages of 14 to 16 claimed to have been sexually abused by organised gangs of men in the city.

In the past year, 23 other cases in Brighton and Hove have been reported to the WISE project.

The fact is many of these girls have had a tough time and are looking for love – but all they find is abuse

Gemma Doughty, project co-ordinator at WISE

The news comes in the week that children’s minister and MP for East Worthing and Shoreham Tim Loughton, said the number of child abuse cases that make it to court are “just the tip of the iceberg”.

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Miss Doughty said: “There are places in Brighton and Hove specifically set up for the grooming of young people but because Brighton is a relaxed city the problem is being hidden.

"It’s only now that we are uncovering the scale of what’s going on.

“There has certainly been a massive rise in the numbers of cases reported to us over the past year or so.”

Hidden world

The groups of older men find their victims wherever young girls gather.

Then they lure them to the “party houses” where the girls’ drinks often get spiked and they can be raped.

Miss Doughty said: “We’ve been raising awareness of this issue and this may account for why this hidden world is now coming to light.”

Almost two-thirds of the victims referred to the WISE project have learning disabilities.

Many have other issues in their lives which mean they crave attention, leaving them open to abuse and exploitation.

At the “party houses”, these underage girls are offered a place where they can freely drink alcohol and take drugs – but soon the older men demand sexual favours in return.

The grooming process can take place within one day or over a long period of time.

Often the victims are bribed for sex with an offer of a place to stay, free food or money.

Typically, ‘friendships’ are formed and phone numbers or social media details are exchanged, leading on to further grooming and invites to “parties”.

'Scared and threatened'

Miss Doughty said: “The guys that do this are from all ethnicities and many are from a younger age group than people might expect.

“We speak to girls who have been passed around numbers of guys and forced to do things they don’t want to do.

“They feel scared and threatened. Often by the time the abuse starts they will have told the guy secrets about themselves.

“The fact is many of these girls have had a tough time and are looking for love – but all they find is abuse.”

Jenny, 16, from Brighton, was taken to houses and repeatedly raped after being picked up from the streets.

Older men passed her around at sex parties after she was plied with drink and drugs.

She said: “I spent my childhood in the care system, was in and out of different schools and had no time to form proper relationships.

“I was always ending up with street drinkers and other people I shouldn’t have been hanging around with.

“Then guys I’d never met started picking me up in their cars and taking me off to their houses in the city where other men were there waiting for me.

“I just wanted some love and attention so I went along with it, although I didn’t want to do any of the things they made me do.

“Now I haven’t got any self esteem or confidence.”

Jenny, not her real name, was referred to staff at YMCA Wise who are giving her counselling and helping her find a place to live.

Miss Doughty said many victims have “slipped through the net” in recent years because of their reluctance to talk to the police and a lack of awareness among child support agencies.

Now, when workers suspect a child is being abused, the victim is referred to the WISE project for counselling and support.

Vulnerable girls

The scheme was set up in response to recommendations in a 2007 Barnados report into sexual exploitation of children in Sussex.

It is the only service devoted to tackling the issue in Brighton and Hove and is funded by Sussex Central YMCA, the city council Comic Relief and Sussex Police.

Detective Inspector Lee Horner, from Sussex Police’s specialist investigation unit, said: “All police forces receive reports of sexual exploitation on vulnerable young girls and Brighton is no exception.

“The Child Protection Team at Brighton is working very closely with the WISE project and other partners to develop our responses to such incidents, support those affected and deal with the perpetrators.”

Jon Brown, NSPCC’s head of strategy for sexual abuse, said: “Any type of sexual grooming and child exploitation seriously damages young people’s lives.

“It leaves vulnerable children at the mercy of unscrupulous men who pretend to be their friends but in reality are dangerous predators.

“It is a corrosive problem that needs further research and concerted multi-agency action to help those affected.”

A spokesman for Brighton and Hove City Council said: “The council’s child protection teams work tirelessly to support victims and potential victims of child sexual exploitation and other forms of abuse.”

Anyone who has fallen victim to this crime can contact the NSPCC through its ChildLine service on 0800 1111.

If you’re an adult and have concerns about a child’s welfare then we would urge you to call the NSPCC’s helpline on 0808 800 5000.

If you need to talk about child exploitation, contact the WISE project on 01273 222583 or email wise@sussexcentralymca.org.uk.

Comments(44)

Hard times says...
2:05pm Fri 15 Jun 12

I really think the Daily Mail should copyright their schtick.

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albionite says...
2:06pm Fri 15 Jun 12

onedaytheleftwillbur
n wrote:
And what is the nationality of these groomers?, I think we can all guess.
Er, no need to guess, the article says "from all ethnicities'.

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GIVE UP says...
2:15pm Fri 15 Jun 12

They can be from any nationally, because of the latest media bashing of grooming gangs being from kebab shops doesn't mean their the only people doing it...male or female are all around UK and they've been doing it for years

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kazza1964 says...
2:23pm Fri 15 Jun 12

i strongly disagree with the 1st comment as someone very close to me has been groomed and that wasnt a man from a kebab shop as he said he was a school teacher and was in hes 40s so it can be any nationality or form as there just so sick to do something like this and it ruins the future of that poor child to

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MuammarQaddafi says...
2:25pm Fri 15 Jun 12

Sad to say, but sexual predation, with yobbery, is the dark side of modern permissiveness and progressivism. If you leave young people to more or less raise themselves and then turn them loose and teenagers, it's a predators' holiday.

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clubrob6 says...
2:29pm Fri 15 Jun 12

albionite wrote:
onedaytheleftwillbur

n wrote:
And what is the nationality of these groomers?, I think we can all guess.
Er, no need to guess, the article says "from all ethnicities'.
The article says the men are from all ethnicties,but a recent report said these grooming gangs are mainly men from pakistan ,and that white men are the ones that usually act on there own.No matter what the case is any ethnicities involved with these grooming gangs should be hit hard in the same way as the rioters were.Lets hope the police react as the recent cases in liverpool and carlisle the police ignored there was a problem even though the underage girls complained.

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Maxwell's Ghost says...
2:31pm Fri 15 Jun 12

When I was at secondary school in the early 1980s it was an every day sight to see men in cars outside the school gates at the end of the day with older men in them hanging out and flirting with the under 16 year old pretty girls who thought it gave them status to have a boyfriend with a car and money when all we had was a crappy racer or a Grifter.
One of the girls from my class left school at 14 pregnant by a man in his late 20s who picked her up in this way.
The men would turn up in Ford Capris and the new Ford XR3is showing off and what I now understand to be 'grooming' teenagers.
They were white British men and there was never, ever any police action.

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Goldenwight says...
2:38pm Fri 15 Jun 12

An investigation by the Argus has revealed...

Yet the YMCA set up a project to deal with this TWO YEARS ago. And even a local MP has got on the bandwagon.

So, Argus, just exactly why didn't you publish this story two years ago when it might actually have been news? Or were you deliberately keeping your readers in the dark for your own nefarious purposes, perhaps? That I doubt. Or, perhaps, someone has handed a story on a plate and you have chosen to publish it with your usual jingoism- more likely.

In fact, this is hardly new at all. Just look up the origin of the saying 'sweet Fanny Adams' with a cross reference to the town of Alton, Hants to see my point. It has always happened, and it always will.

In deference to my earlier comments, it certainly doesn't hurt for the Argus to remind people of this, but we need to keep our perspective here. Particularly vis ethnicity and nationality.

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tooned_in says...
2:49pm Fri 15 Jun 12

This article makes me physically ill!!!! regardless of ethnicities or age groups this is one of the most serious crimes that can be committed surely? whatever the cost of investigating/settin
g up specialist teams then the police need to find it in their budget...no child should have to be put through an ordeal like this which could be classified under many criminal acts? peadophille, drugging under age children, kidnapp, sex trafficing (as im sure these sickos pay for the vile privilledge) ps i know my spelling sicks!!

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Hard times says...
3:16pm Fri 15 Jun 12

Amazing how racist cowards never seem to moan too much about all those Catholic Priests and Scout leaders.

Is it somehow worse to be a brown sex criminal?

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elainepkils says...
3:17pm Fri 15 Jun 12

What re the police doing. These men maybe because they are men) seem toget away with these terrible things. Peadophile priests are getting away with abuse so who is protecting these men.All I seem to hear is bout the Levison affair on the news stations nothing about child abuse. money is going to the Banks why not to more police resources.

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Goldenwight says...
4:18pm Fri 15 Jun 12

To Argus editorial team.

I know that I frequently moan about your abilities and efforts, etc.

But just looking at some of the rubbish that has been posted here reminds me that, not only do you have some (limited) integrity, but you also appear to have at least half a brain amongst (however many of) you (there are)- which some of your readers are sadly lacking.
Apologies for any offence caused previously.

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Roundbill says...
5:10pm Fri 15 Jun 12

C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER!!!

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Roundbill says...
5:10pm Fri 15 Jun 12

...

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elainepkils says...
5:39pm Fri 15 Jun 12

Enough about rascism. Everyone whatever colour should be ashamed. Some pray to a good god, well not so good in my opinion if he or she can look down on children suffering and do nothing,although religion states god can do anything,-obviously not. Lets stop praying and do something about this mess the world is in,.

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Grinny says...
6:50pm Fri 15 Jun 12

I am amazed and horrified that most comments concern ethnicity.Why is this even important?Did you not understand the point?There are young,vulnerable people in this city being sexually exploited.Skin colour or nationality of the offenders doesn't change the fact that this is happening to our children.The children of people you may know,the children of people you may work with,the classmates of your children,children who may live on your street.These paedophiles are raping children.Not only are they raping children,they are targeting vulnerable children.Children who may come from abusive and dysfunctional families.Children that have little to look forward to and that have now had all their faith in humanity destroyed.Children who just want someone,anyone,to care about them.I care and I am shocked that most commenters are more concerned with the colour of the paedophile than the ruined childhoods and lost innocence of Brighton and Hove's children.You should be ashamed of yourselves.

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george smith says...
7:03pm Fri 15 Jun 12

These should be locked up for life and life should mean life. The only way out should be in a coffin.

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Morpheus says...
8:57pm Fri 15 Jun 12

If this has been gowing on for some time why hasn't it been made public before? And more to the point what have the police been doing?

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Dr.Draconian says...
11:20pm Fri 15 Jun 12

I'd like to know what farmer Dave Dawson thinks about this story...

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hubby says...
11:37pm Fri 15 Jun 12

It is time to start looking after one another.
Not just you and yours,but everybodys.
We are at a tipping point.
If youngsters are being groomed for sex then there are a lot of people who know what is going on.
It is time to start shouting and helping the vulnerable.
We are stronger than we think,and we can make things happen.....and make things stop happening.

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Council Pound says...
1:30am Sat 16 Jun 12

Lets get a really story going on here, wheres the parenting (ie where is my child) and where the FOOK has the McCarthy 1/2 Mill gone ?

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mimseycal says...
6:04am Sat 16 Jun 12

Unfortunately it has been going on since time immemorial it seems and it certainly is not confined to a particular ethnicity, socio-economic group or even gender - women have been known to act as procurers.

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Juleyanne says...
8:53am Sat 16 Jun 12

It is long overdue for schools to incorporate educating young females on how to spot potentially dangerous predatory men, the different tactics they use to lure their victims and how to best avoid situations that might put them in peril. Also, at least one in four women will encounter domestic violence so should we not be at least giving them the tools to recognise early warning signals of potentially violent partners?

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mimseycal says...
9:17am Sat 16 Jun 12

Please let us not bring the gender divide into the equation either.

All vulnerable children and youth are at risk and they are at risk from all adults, of whichever gender and all ethnicities, creeds, cultural or religious backgrounds, that are prepared to prey on them.

Highlighting the potential of one gender over another, one ethnicity over another, one cultural or economic background over another, says a lot more about the prejudice of the poster than the reality of predatory fiends and their victims.

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Council Pound says...
9:36am Sat 16 Jun 12

Why did the Kent Council CEO not get 1/2 a Mill pay off like McCarthy in Brighton, she only achieved £400,000. It's really unequal.

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Juleyanne says...
10:47am Sat 16 Jun 12

Indeed abuse can involve any gender, race or otherwise. However, by far the vast majority
statistically involves males on females and men on men. Educating young women/men on how to protect themselves and recognise predatory and potentially violent manipulators can surely only be a good thing!

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Thetruth666 says...
10:54am Sat 16 Jun 12

Thanks for deleting my comment Argus.Free speech?Pathetic.

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mimseycal says...
11:09am Sat 16 Jun 12

Juleyanne wrote:
Indeed abuse can involve any gender, race or otherwise. However, by far the vast majority
statistically involves males on females and men on men. Educating young women/men on how to protect themselves and recognise predatory and potentially violent manipulators can surely only be a good thing!
Right! But again ... lets not get too hung up by the statistics. All vulnerable individuals should be empowered to recognise the potential predator.

We should also make it easier for potential victims to report troubling encounters.

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Retired Loon in Brighton says...
11:39am Sat 16 Jun 12

Why don't the council and police offer an ongoing reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of such evil scum? Why does the justice system hand down so many lenient sentences for child abuse when lesser crimes often attract higher sentences?

Think of all the public money that gets wasted elsewhere.

Nobody would grumble at all if huge amounts of money were spent targeting these evil scumbags and then sentencing them correctly.

With a permanent reward system in place people would at least see that more public money was going to protect innocent children rather than over-paying management consultants and covering the costs of policing pointless demonstrations on our streets.

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Angryoldman says...
2:35pm Sat 16 Jun 12

Hard times wrote:
Amazing how racist cowards never seem to moan too much about all those Catholic Priests and Scout leaders.

Is it somehow worse to be a brown sex criminal?
No but they do it in large gangs of older men. What don't you understand about that?
Stop playing the race card!

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mimseycal says...
4:04pm Sat 16 Jun 12

There is no doubt that there are certain cultural elements that would enable certain tendencies to come to the fore, such as the culture of the Catholic Church for instance.

However until we know that that is indeed the case here, deflecting from the horrendous harm that is being done to local vulnerable youth is all that this carping on about Rochdale or paedophile priests will achieve.

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mimseycal says...
6:31pm Sat 16 Jun 12

boblat wrote:
This filth has been at it for years, and the police just can't be bothered....
Here's one thing I bet you didn't know: Foreign taxi drivers are ''SCOUTS'' for these Paedo-rapists !
In all fairness, the police do require a certain amount of objective provable evidence. Merely stating that X is a paedophile because everyone knows s/he is just won't stand up in a court of law.

Then again, going around and making those sort of claims could lead to all sorts of unpleasantness for the declaimer. I'd watch myself in your shoes.

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Nathan_Adler says...
6:33pm Sat 16 Jun 12

I hope the filthy old men who do this get cancer of the penis. That'll teach 'em!!

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boblat says...
7:23pm Sat 16 Jun 12

mimseycal wrote:
boblat wrote:
This filth has been at it for years, and the police just can't be bothered....
Here's one thing I bet you didn't know: Foreign taxi drivers are ''SCOUTS'' for these Paedo-rapists !
In all fairness, the police do require a certain amount of objective provable evidence. Merely stating that X is a paedophile because everyone knows s/he is just won't stand up in a court of law.

Then again, going around and making those sort of claims could lead to all sorts of unpleasantness for the declaimer. I'd watch myself in your shoes.
More ''Mimsy'' Negs?
You ain't a taxi driver are you??

Anything to get rid of the Paedophile ''FILTH'' running our Town centre....

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boblat says...
7:37pm Sat 16 Jun 12

Or is that a ''veiled'' threat Mimsey??

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mimseycal says...
8:15pm Sat 16 Jun 12

boblat wrote:
Or is that a ''veiled'' threat Mimsey??
No veiled threat boblat ... merely a statement of fact. Accusations especially regarding something as serious as all this, require the backup of verifiable proof.

Mere stupidity or bigoted vigilantism is no excuse.

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boblat says...
8:59pm Sat 16 Jun 12

Sounds like YOU have a real ''Axe'' to grind Mimsey?

Seen with my own eyes..

Makes one wonder what your interest encompasses then ??

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mimseycal says...
9:45pm Sat 16 Jun 12

No axe dear ... merely intolerant of bigotry and ignorance ;)

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boblat says...
12:58am Sun 17 Jun 12

So, who's side are you REALLY on then Mimsey????

Maybe you sympathise with the Filthy bastards who just want to rape and imprison our children for their own ends??

''Ignorant Bigot''? Who the fook do you think you are conversing with??

Just stay in your negative world and don't interfere in things you know nothing about....

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elainepkils says...
9:22am Sun 17 Jun 12

All the contrbutors want this filth to stop. I am keeping my eye on this subject and hope to not let this just go by the wayside where it is all talk and no action, and we should all make a noise to our police .Where are the parents of these children I would like to know.

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mimseycal says...
10:02am Sun 17 Jun 12

One reason these children are particularly vulnerable is, in the main, that there is very little constructive input with the adults who should be involved in their lives, their upbringing and their emotional development.
It makes them vulnerable to exploitation.
As for where the parents are ... well, I imagine at least some of those who are now aware of what has been happening to their children are probably incensed, at the perpetrators for exploiting their children, at the authorities for not protecting their children.

So incandescent with rage in fact that they probably have very little time left to wonder how their children ended up being so vulnerable to exploitation in the first place.

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Lord Mucking Fuddler says...
1:09pm Sun 17 Jun 12

Here, here Mimseycal.

The parents are usually self-interested scumbags with zero insight, many of whom are simply recycling their own upbringing of disinterest and abuse upon their own off-spring, who will then do the same when their spawn also become pregnant at 15.

Meanwhile there are legions of over-paid council workers (wearing flip-flops when checking up on clients) and teachers (trying to learn to rap as a teaching aid, rather than talking about statutory rape) seemingly trying to explain in detail to their paymasters why they are powerless to do very much.

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Juleyanne says...
8:48am Mon 18 Jun 12

The vulnerability of victims of such appalling abuse is not entirely exclusive to those from disjointed backgrounds and poor parenting, although of course such young people indeed are at far greater risk. Young people can also be vulnerable even from stable backgrounds, unaware through lack of experience of entering a world where not all adults are honourable. This is why education is so vital.

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mimseycal says...
8:52am Mon 18 Jun 12

If children are let loose on a world without being aware that not all adults are honourable then there is certainly a gap in their eduction. One that should have been addressed at home!

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